But repairs to the Royal Palace would have to wait.
Zi Shou had another grand plan.
He would go to Chentang Pass and get in on the action.
Zi Shou had no idea why Shi Ji had come to Chaoge. Perhaps she was here to poach business?
According to Fat Yin, Shi Ji had opened a Fortune-Telling Stall in northern Chaoge, standing as an equal rival to Jiang Ziya and Yun Zhongzi, determined not to let the Chan Sect monopolize the fortune-telling business.
That had nothing to do with Zi Shou, but when he saw that Shi Ji had only one Daoist attendant with her, he knew Nezha had already struck his deadly blow.
And Nezha turning the Dragon Palace upside down, killing the sea yaksha, and ripping out the dragon's sinews had probably happened around this time as well.
If he found a chance to visit Chentang Pass, happened to catch the flood there, and took the blame for it, wouldn't that be perfectly legitimate divine punishment?!
The trouble the Tai'a Sword had brought him vanished without a trace.
Look! King Zhou defied the Mandate of Heaven and suffered divine punishment! What are you waiting for? Start cursing him!
After Chentang Pass flooded, he would issue an edict of self-reproach.
He would have to choose his words carefully: a bitter account of his offenses, paired with an utterly abysmal attitude toward admitting fault, showing that he knew he was wrong but refused to acknowledge it and had issued the edict only because he had no choice.
That would deepen public outrage, while the fact that he had ultimately issued an edict of self-reproach would keep anyone from risking rebellion.
The next day, at morning court.
The ministers were gratified. Their king's earlier refusal to attend morning court really had